BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 20, 2013 — Rolf Blank, Ph.D., has recently joined NORC at the University of Chicago as a senior fellow in the Education & Child Development Studies department. Until recently, Blank was a program director at the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), leading Education Research and Indicators. While at CCSSO, he was responsible for study design, grant proposal development, managing education research and evaluation projects, developing a system of 50-state education indicators, and supervising reports and online products.

“I am pleased to be here at NORC. I have always been impressed by the organization’s work, and I am looking forward to helping my colleagues analyze data from the state longitudinal data systems and from the international and national assessments,” said Blank. “I will be looking at the effects of specific policies at state and local levels, instructional practices, and teacher professional development and effectiveness.”

Over the course of his 30-year career, Rolf has had primary design, development, and leadership responsibility for major multiyear education research and evaluation projects supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, foundations, and state agencies. The studies involved several types of research methods, including randomized control trials at the school level; analysis of longitudinal data for students linked to teachers, development, and use of teacher surveys on classroom practices; and meta-analysis of student achievement effects from professional development programs.

“Rolf’s leadership experience and deep expertise in education research will be valuable additions to NORC’s long tradition of outstanding research on education policy,” said Dan Gaylin, NORC’s acting president. “We are fortunate he has joined our staff.”

Rolf has worked closely with leaders, educators, and managers in many education agencies, as well as in professional associations such as the Council of State Science Supervisors, State Education Assessment Directors, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the American Association for Advancement of Science, and the National Research Council. 

“I am thrilled to welcome Rolf to NORC after a storied tenure leading research and evaluation with some of the nation’s most important education initiatives,” said Bronwyn Nichols Lodato, senior vice president and director of Education and Child Development Studies at NORC at the University of Chicago. “Our clients will benefit from his broad knowledge and experience with education research.”
 
Rolf earned a Ph.D. in sociology and education at Florida State University, his M.A. in education policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a B.A. in history from Luther College.